Final Concept Map

This is our final concept map. We added when and where the fundraiser will take place as well as why we are having it. We also added all the gardening responsibilities that the students will take on.

Reading Reflection #11

1.  Description of what occurs as a result of using the Project-based learning approach.

Students and teachers alike, learn to incorporate relevant technology with the learning process.  Students are learning and thinking on their own, instead of being spoon fed every single piece of information by instructors.

2.  Discussion on ways to “bring your project home”.

Student reflections and discussions with colleges provide the feedback needed to properly asses the success of a project.  These assessments can then influence improvements to future projects.

3. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

I think that it’s a great idea that once our project is finished, we should put all of the information into a Web achieve.  This makes the information easily accessible for future use and easy to edit as improvements are thought of.

Reading Reflection 11

1. Description of what occurs as a result of using the Project-based learning approach.

As a result of project based learning, your project should leave you with vivid memories, souvenirs and artifacts you have collected along the way, and plenty of ideas for shaping your next learning adventure. This project should leave the teacher as well as the students with an open door and the ability to do so much more.

1. Discussion on ways to “bring your project home”.

Ways to bring your project home are to capitalize your investment, critique your work, share your insights, become a resource for your colleagues and just enjoy the journey. Teachers should invest a little more time to reflect on what they learned and consider how you might want to share your valuable insights with others.

1. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

This chapter just ties everything together for us to see what the end result of project based learning is. By this we can see what our end results with our students should be.

Reflection #11

1. Description of what occurs as a result of using the project based learning approach:
As a result of project based learning, students learn more than just what the project was all about. Project based learning leads you to build off of what you did and shape it into your next learning experience. Reflection on what you learned from your project based learning is a good way to show students their experience paid off. PBL also allows you to connect with your colleagues and peers after completing your project.


2. Discussion on ways to bring your project home:
Some ways to bring your project home include sharing your project ideas with networks, creating a project library, turning your project into an archive on the Web, or publishing your project. These are all great ways to get your ideas and project out there for everyone else to see. Becoming a resource for your colleagues can be a great benefit to both you and your colleagues.


3. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic:
This chapter relates to our group because it is all starting to come together. We have noticed that all our hard work is starting to pay off and come together in our website. We look forward to sharing what we have done throughout the semester in PBL in a couple weeks.

Reflection #10

1. Discussion on the importance of setting aside time for reflection:
It is important that students set aside time to reflect on their own work because it gives them a sense of how others see their work. When students create their own meaning it is important that they look at it from a distance so that they can see their work from different sides and work beyond that to push themselves further. This also allows for deeper thinking.

2. Discussion on the reason students need to reflect and elaborate:
It is important for students to reflect because it gives them a chance to think about how their own creativity came into play and where the areas are they can improve in. It is important to elaborate because it gets them wondering whats next? what do you want to learn now? and how do you want to go about it? These are all great questions for students to reflect on because it engages think in higher order thinking and allows them to fix their own mistakes.

3. Discussion on how schools build tradition and identity:
One way schools build tradition is through students work. Once parents and members of the community see what students are up to at the school it builds a sense of identity and continues to build year by year. Once they have established a tradition, students will feel its a privilege to honor the tradition with their hard work.

4. Discussion on the importance of celebrating a project:
Celebrating a project allows for the community to see what your students are up to and helps build your schools identity. Classroom displays and exhibits are a great way to portray your students work and get it out in the community where your school is seen.

5. Discussion of how this chapter relates to your project:
This chapter relates to our topic because we are going to be putting on a fundraiser for our vegetables. This will allow our students to build an identity with the community and show off their hard work.

Reading Reflection #10

1.) Discussion on the importance of setting aside time for reflection.
Taking time to reflect helps students feel good about their accomplishments, but more importantly, reflection can be the thing that makes learning really stick. Setting aside time for reflection helps students reveal things they might not otherwise think about: what they learned, their growth as learners, and what they want to learn in projects ahead

2.) Discussion on the reason students need to reflect and elaborate.
As students complete more and more projects, they will be able to handle more tasks as they go. As a teacher you need to ask your students to reflect and elaborate. Ask: What does this get you wondering about next? What do you want to learn now, and how do you want to go about it?

3.) Discussion on how schools build tradition and identity.
Many schools' identities are tied to their traditions. Once you have established a tradition of excellence, students will feel it's a privilege to honor the tradition with their hard work. In order to build a tradition, you have to get the community involved so that the school can form an identity.

4.) Discussion on the importance celebrating a project.
Anyway that you can celebrate the experience of learning by a student, do it. Students worked really hard on their projects and it's important to show the students how good of a job they did and how much you appreciate their hard work.

5.) Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.
In this section, it is important to understand how much reflection is important to a students learning. At the end of our garden fundraiser, students will be able to look back and reflect on everything they have learned.

Reflection # 9

   1.   Description of a method of understanding prior-knowledge of students.

Quizzes and surveys can be taken ahead of time to determine the capabilities of the students.  These determined capabilities will in hand be used to develop the ways in which lessons with be taught, projects will be conducted and grading rubrics will also be based on them

    2.  Discussion on the importance of establishing anchors for a project.

Anchors are important to establish before assessing a student’s work.  Not every student starts their learning process in the same location, so it is unfair to grade them by the same finishing standard.  They should be graded by level of progression and effort.

    3.  Description of several ways to assess what students learned during the project.

It is important to asses a student’s progress in more ways than just evaluating a written paper.  It is important to also evaluate their understanding, presentation, knowledge of content, work ethic and so on.  All of these areas are important to learn while in school and therefore they should be assessed.

   4.   Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

Anchors are a great concept to use while determining how the project will be graded.  Expectations for each student will remain equally demanding, but also equal within the starting point.  That way students with more experience do not excel above the others in their classes, just because of their advantage before even beginning the project.